From the far reaches of the Milky way, galaxy it's Retro Nerd Girl, with a film review for you, kind of, this is a little different. This is more of a chatty chatty video, with no structure at all that is actually looking at a new movie that has recently come out, Dune that was released this year, 2021.
This is a video that's a lot different than any of the other videos that I've ever done, because I usually tend to stick to more retro movies. It really takes a lot of money for me to go see a movie in the theater , it costs me about $70. Since the pandemic and we had these rare opportunities to see movies at home on streaming platforms like HBO, max, and its a godsend for me.
So you guys might know, and maybe you don't know, I am a very big fan of Dune, the book, and the 1984 movie. I like the mini series that came out in 2000 and I really like a lot of the YouTube channels that are talking about Dune. I love those channels. Um, there's quite a few of them out there. There's Quinn Ideas, and Comic Book 19. As someone who is a big fan, I've read all the books by Frank Herbert and they're all spectacular. It's a very unique sci-fi story that reads more like history. Love, love, love the story and the history of why Frank Herbert actually wrote the story.
I did a review on the 1984 movie, and I went into detail about that particular subject and it seems as if, while traveling through Florence, Oregon, Frank learned of some architectural development that would control the flow of sand dunes, keeping them from roads and other locations occupied by humans.
But that wasn't just it, he got really interested in ecology and cultures that exist in desert lands. He was fascinated by the people of the Kalahari desert in South Africa and how they value water. So the people of Dune called the Fremman. They are really based on the Kalahari, desert dwellers, and also there's a very strong Arabic use of words and terms. So it's, it feels very ancient, very old, and this is very set in our very, very far future. There seems to be a combination of all the religions and the people are very much, have very much carried on humanity in a completely different way, but still there are tones or shadows that is present today and what can be seen in antiquity.
The Story
So just so that way, you know what the story is, about. the son of the duke Paula Atradies discovers that he has been bred to be the super being the Kwisatz Haderach and he must defeat the Barron Harkonnen and the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV by raising an army and controlling the production of the most important commodity of the Known Universe.
The spice mélange is being produced on the planet Arrakis, which is a sand planet, a planet of desert and on that planet, there are these giant worms that, are attracted to activity on the surface of the sand. So if you're walking on the sand, they will come and eat you up and then go away.
So the spice in this movie they don't really explain to you that the spice is something that everyone in this universe needs in order to survive. Nearly everybody is on a little bit of spice. You need a little spice in your life. Well, in this universe, mostly everyone is on the spice. I won't say everybody, but a lot of people are dependent on the spice.
Once you start taking it, you have to keep taking it or you die. And that was not in this movie. I'm really upset that that's not in this movie, but that doesn't mean I don't like the movie. It's just missing and maybe they'll mention it in the second movie which has already been green lit by Warner Brothers.
In the second half they'll explain how important the spice is because we, we don't really get much information about the space just yet.
There's, this group of women called the bene gesserit and they are really, like ninjas, they have their own fighting style. It's amazing. Um, I had, and I always wanted to see their fighting style and, uh, hopefully we'll see it. There's going to be a sisterhood of doing or something where they actually go through, um, the Sisterhood of Dune television series being developed and maybe they'll go into the weirding way, their fighting style, the voice and all their other powers that they have, which is knowing when people are telling the truth. All along, Paul's mom, Jessica has been teaching Paul how to do this, and this is pretty awesome because that's what makes him special.
But also on top of that, he's been getting Mentat training, which they don't mention in the movie. Movie!? The Mentats are actually human computers.
And the reason why there's human computers is because all thinking computers have been outlawed, since ancient times, there was a robot war and there's no computers. This is a sprawling story. I love it. Love it, love it. It, it has the flavor and the feel of history.
There is a strong patriarchy feel to it. However, With the bene gesseret and a lot of other strong female characters throughout the, books. It does, something that, is considered, very modern back in, the 1960s and the 1970s.
So There's something of a kind of, progressiveness about it, but it's also talking about the patriarchy and deals with the patriarchy doesn't mess with it either. So it's kind of a great middle ground kind of gives everybody kind of what they want.
Okay. It gets, it gets so wild. So that's why I really love the story. Also one of the main reasons why he (Herbert) made the story is because, uh, well, I don't want to say it because it's going to be a spoiler for a lot of people.
Maybe you might've come here just trying to get a brief look at, you know, how someone feels about doing 2021. And, uh, I'll go get right into it. I absolutely love what was done there. Uh, I really do. I love what was done with the film. The film has a very monotone look to it. The colors aren't bright, they aren't super, super bright. It's all about the look. The look of the film is very unique. Very mute. I would say very, uh, lots and lots of grays, lots of Browns, lots of gold and not the flashy gold, but more like a tannish gold. The colors are very subtle, is what I am trying to say.
But there's also a mood created in the visual landscape of it all. It looks a very beautiful. It looks like dark chocolate swirling around in a VAT. You know, it looks very creamy and delicious and it's, it just takes my breath away. When I look at this movie, just from a visual standpoint, absolutely love the aesthetic.
One of the things that I loved about the 1984 movie was the aesthetic there. I love the interesting and fabulous costumes and the huge sets, the beautiful, the beautiful sets with all the detail. And there seems to be a continuation here of like excellent costumes. Wonderful. Special effects, wonderful visual landscapes, that kind of thing.
So everything is very authentic. Say whatever you want to about the 1984 version of dune, they did go into the desert to film that stuff. It was all, they spent a lot of money and they ran out of money in the film, but they did have thousands of people on the desert.
The aesthetic was the one thing I did not like about the television mini series, which was a really good adaptation of Dune and the proceeding books. They showed a lot of story detail, but as far as the actual aesthetic of the presentation, I wasn't a fan of because everything was so bright and in my opinion, too bright for such a story. I just didn't like the color palette and that's why I'm so glad to see that in the 2021 version, we have this very somber color.
I'm not sure if they'll continue this for the second movie. This has been split up into two movies, which is a wise choice. It was considered for the first movie in 1984 to actually be split into two movies. But at the time the producer, Dino de Laurentiis decided that he just wanted to have it in one movie. And also the movie actually got cut down quite a bit. And this is one of the reasons why. David Lynch actually disowned the movie and asked that, Alan, Smithee be the name that, was presented as the director.
Again, back to the look there's something very wonderfully real about the way everything looks. It's looks very practical. Like you, I feel like I can just walk right into the movie and be inside of any of these rooms and these settings.
It's it's inviting in that way and. There's so much visually that was nailed. Right? They got it right. Visually, as far as the story is concerned, I really enjoyed the story. The way it was told the actors are probably the highlight of the story, because they're really taking. Notes from the book, and they're also putting their own take on how these characters are reacting to the moment.
And I loved all the nuances and, and things that are a lot different from the 1984 version in which the acting I would say was very theatrical. Shakespearian. There was something very much like a stage play about the way everyone is delivering their lines. And, and, and I love that. I love that. It, it, it really. It's something I enjoy about a lot of movies. I love when actors go big. In 1984, things were done differently. People spoke differently, but even for the time period, this was kind of a stuffy, again, Shakespearian like performances, which I tend to enjoy very, very much. Give that to me on a silver platter, please. However, here it is done naturally. Everything feels very organic.
The darting looks that people give to each other, the unspoken words that are said through their facial expressions. Absolutely priceless.
There were so many times where I actually cried during this movie. It just really took my breath away and touched to me so personally. I've read the books. I've seen the previous additions, the, the 1984 and then 2002 mini series. And this is just a totally different vibe and it feels very personal. It feels very real.
The tent scene in particular was very, very emotional. I cried at that. I cried at the end of when Paul goes through this whole process of having to kill a person for the first time and becoming his own man, if you will. He's actually taking control. In many ways, this feels like, and I've heard someone else say it, so I'm not original and thinking this, but there's a comparison to Anakin Skywalker where he starts off as this good person with good intentions, honorable intentions, but he is foreseen he will be a jihad and there will be a massacre of people in his name.
He is now embracing his destiny in a way, even if, even though that destiny isn't the destiny he really wants. It's the destiny he feels he has to do in order to avenge his father, protect the name of his, his family and restore, their good name.
It really brought tears to my eyes because the way it was done, it was just so well-told it just made me feel like this is the moment that Paul is making, the decision to follow his destiny. He is making the decision to be the man that he fears. That he could be.
And in one way, or, you know, people could say, Paul is agreeing to be a bad guy but he's actually, doesn't have a choice in the matter, because if he decides that he's going to go somewhere and hide, they're just going to hunt him down. Is it sadly that's, what's going to happen?
For, for him to make this decision as is instead of taking the defensive, he's taking the offensive and in his mind, he's completing his father's dream. The part of, of the dream that his father never got to, enjoy or get to do. It's so big. It just feels so big and so intense it. I love it.
I cried when duke Leto dies and, I don't know, there just was something about it that kind of felt sad because at that moment he thought his wife and his son had died. And so it, there is a sense of helplessness in that moment that just made me cry just a little.
I love it. It's wonderful. Can't help, but say like, yes, yes, yes, yes. Give me more of this incredible, loved it. Want more of it? That kind of thing.
Paul was played brilliantly. I loved Timothy's performance in this movie. I love the GOM Jabbar scene, where he gets the strength from nowhere and he just overcomes his pain. I love how he's able to convey all these emotions and he does it over and over and over again in so many different scenes. Great acting, amazing, wonderful casting all around.
I love the way "the voice" is portrayed in the film. It's like a shouting and a whispering and it's the music is like somebody turned up the treble somewhere. It's it's really good. Um, I love the effects do used while that's having sometimes the camera shakes and. , there's some visual cues that are being added to the moment to make it even more exciting, like sound effects too.
Speaking of sound effects. this sound is of course incredible, but I, I think that really what helps to really get the mood of the film is the music. It is glorious. In my opinion, Hans Zimmer is giving his very, very best and I felt it. I think some people may not enjoy that kind of thing. I love it. It's it sounds very primal. It just feels like the ancient sounds of, bene gesserits guiding the story, watching from their visions, whether it is in the past or the future. It just feels like a haunting memory.
Lady Jessica is played by Rebecca Ferguson and Rebecca Ferguson is very beautiful and she has a very strong presentation. Jessica is a very interesting person. There's a couple of scenes that were not added to the story and which you would understand why I say this, but maybe they might add it. She has the capability of, she wanted to, could have forced the duke to marry her. She could have, taken control over the Atradies and rule the whole thing. Not just her, but if the bene gesserits wanted to take over, they could, they very well could. They would be met with, some pushback, but they could, if they wanted to.
They want to, but they want to work underneath the scenes, underneath the radar. And I think everybody knows that they're scheming and plotting because they're considered witches in the known universe.
Jessica really represents someone who is really strong, trying to keep her place as the Duke's mistress / concubine and the mother of the future duke. There's a responsibility there. I mean, there's a couple of times where Paul actually yells at her and she just stands back. He's the duke in her world. So she has to take that place, stand back.
It's a lot different when you're dealing with royalty and positions of power in society. Again, if she wanted to, she could take over, but she has the composure. She has to keep her composure.
Oscar Isaac was amazing. We always knew that he's always great and everything. Stellan Skarsgard was amazing. He's Portrays the Baron in a way that is respectful to, the strategist that he is. We didn't get so much of that in the 1984 movie, he was just bombastic and insane and over the top, but here he's very much like a strategist.
I love the fact that the Baron, speaks of the emperor as a dangerous man, and he's a dangerous person himself. For him to consider the emperor a dangerous man, I can't wait till we see the emperor and we get a full flavor of who the emperor is. He delivers the line and the movie that is my favorite line ever, which is "when is a gift, not a gift".
The Baron is a man that is uncomfortable with his body and there's still a bit of that gross ness about him, but it's also played with the intelligence of a strategist.
Zendaya is not in the film very, for very long. I know a lot of people were very, very upset that she wasn't in the story, but they should be satisfied that in the next movie, everything will be told through her point of view. By the way, I think that is a very smart idea by, Denise Villeneuve to give her point of view in the story to take the focus off of Paul so that way Paul is not the protagonist. Herbert didn't want Paul to be the protagonist, even though he is in the beginning, he is in the beginning.
Jason Mamoa was excellent.
I think a lot of people were worried about Jason. I feel as if he matched it perfectly. This story kind of gives you is an idea that Duncan is closer to Paul than pretty much anybody. They're really good friends, but he's more of a mentor to Paul. and I really wanted to get a little bit more because Duncan is very important to the story he did a fantastic job. Loved it.
And it was incredible, incredible, incredible, incredible. There was, Josh Brolin. Excellent. I mean, did you expect any less, heavier bar down? Amazing. same thing. what did you expect? I mean, they just delivered the excellence that we're used to seeing the on-screen by them.
Incredible. There was some controversy about, Dr. Leit Kinds being now played by a woman of color. To me it didn't seem to matter at all. The actor's name was Sharon Duncan Brewster. I think it was done in the same fashion as it was done in 1984. She did well, I mean, no complaints from me. And she didn't change the character. It was it's the same character, basically. Dave Bautista was really good as the Beast Rabban. I hope in the second movie, we get a little bit more of him, more detail about , his psyche. I loved, anytime he was on screen. I wanted a little bit of more, like, what is his life really like? What is he like before a battle? We'd love to know details that's not in the book about the Beast and why, you know, why is he called the beast? Just a little bit more, I mean, it may require some more, um, violence or whatever, but, or even, maybe not violence. Maybe we can find out more about how he was treated as a kid or some things, something that gives me more about that character.
Everybody else were incredible. The acting was just so good. It was just so good. Everyone gave incredible performances. The look of the movie is so yummy and delicious. It looks like chocolate. I can't wait for the second movie. Lead us right into Dune Messiah, which, Denise Villeneuve has already said that he wants to do and that is, that is definitely where we're going to see it is the completion of the Dune saga for this particular leg of it.
I'm really looking forward to the future of Dune. If we could ever get it going and maybe get some toys and we can get some, some action figures and some, just have a world full of Dune stuff.
It'll be great. It'll be, be great.
So right now, my synopsis is, it is a masterpiece. It is missing some things, but I'm hopeful that a lot of those things will be introduced in doing part two. And, my rating right now for it is a 9.8. That really sums up my very quick impromptu review of a new movie.
This is retro nerd girls signing off. Take care of movie lovers. I'm off to my next review!
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